Interview: Steve Niles on 30 Days, Clive Barker and Rob Zombie

Q:
Early in your carreer you adapted a fair number of books to the comic medium. What has it been like to now take your original work and adapt that into books and movies like the upcoming 30 Days of Night?

A:
I feel bad that I practiced on guys like Matheson, Barker and Ellison! But seriously, all those adaptations taught me a lot about breaking down and/or expanding a story from one medium to another, and I certainly utilized those lessons while writing 30 Days in all its various forms. Learning to be true to source material can be tricky, but as the better comics-to-films have proven, the more accurate to the original material, the better the films seem to be. I mean there are very good reasons why people have loved Spiderman all these years, but it took Raimi following the comics to prove it.

Q:
You said in an interview with ShockTillYouDrop.com back in July that you had been talking with Clive Barker about putting out something new. Has anything come of those talks yet? Maybe Weave World or Imajica?

A:
Ha! Nothing yet. Clive and I go way back, so the idea of us working together again is about as exciting as it gets. Unfortunately, because of our schedules we’ve yet to make any firm plans. I’m hoping Clive and I will get a chance to cook something up for next year.

Q:
What can you tell me about the upcoming miniseries you and Thomas Jane are developing for the Sci-Fi Channel? Does it have a title yet?

A:
You know that jam-packed schedule I was just talking about? Well, the Sci-Fi show is the latest victim. I had to back out of that gig and left it to its creator, Tom, to work on. I’m afraid I just have too much on my slate and I needed to trim back. I’m looking forward to seeing what Tom does. He has a great imagination, and I was very disappointed to drop off that project.

Q:
Is there any new news about your Criminal Macabre movie in development at MGM? Has a director been named yet?

A:
Criminal Macabre is no longer at MGM. Right now I’m working closely with Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson and trying to get Cal done and done right. People keep trying to clean Cal up, and I’m afraid I’d rather not have a film happen than compromise the character. Remember what I said about being true to source material?

Q:
Will there ever be another project between yourself and Rob Zombie?

A:
We did Bigfoot, based on an idea of mine, and The Nail, which was based on an original idea by Zombie. Since then I’ve written a screenplay for Bigfoot and I’d like to see that get made, but other than that we have no plans.

Q:
Do you have any connection to or opinion about the upcoming Will Smith movie I Am Legend?

A:
Bill Sienkiewicz and I did a short story for the upcoming I Am Legend comic prequel series for Vertigo. I had a chance to meet with Jada Smith. The whole project was really fun. I don’t know much about the film, but I heard through Mr. Matheson’s son that he’s very pleased with it, so that’s good enough for me.

Q:
You’ve been crossing over into so many mediums lately, it seems that all that’s left is for you to achieve mainstream success in the music or video game industries. Where do you intend to focus your creative output in the future?

A:
This sounds so pompous, but as long as I’m writing and creating I don’t care what medium I work in. Of course I have a special place in my heart for comics, so I hope I’ll always make those. I’d like to write a lot more Cal McDonald prose. That’s where I feel the most comfortable. We’ll see. I’m open to anything.